Blu-ray movie prices still too high

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02 Dec 08 19:21 by Randomus in category Uncategorized To news archive

Blu-ray manufacturers are doing their part by lowering the cost of standalone Blu-ray players, but now it’s Hollywood’s turn to help out by cutting the price of Blu-ray movies.

Sure, there were movie deals available on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but Blu-ray prices simply need to drop further to persuade consumers to purchase movies in Blu-ray.  I wonder how many consumers are holding off from switching to Blu-ray just because the movie costs still are so much higher than DVDs.

I understand why Blu-ray costs more, but if studios are serious about Blu-ray as a legitimate format, there is simply no other alternative but to lower costs.  It seems every major movie release features a commercial that mentions the movie’s availability in Blu-ray, so it’s not as if Hollywood is turning its collective back on the format.

Remember the days when Blu-ray and HD DVD were going head-to-head to compete, which meant we had fair prices?  Those really were the golden days, but now that Blu-ray is the lone physical high-definition format, Hollywood apparently remains stubborn and refuses to lower Blu-ray prices.

Several movie studios previously discussed lowering prices in the future, but very little has been done to realistically help more people purchase Blu-ray movies.  Even with lowered prices to help stimulate shopping during a rough economy, it’s still common to find most Blu-ray movies with price tags of $35 or more.

With the constant thread of digital movie downloads and streaming content directly into the living room, I’m surprised Blu-ray supporters haven’t tried harder to convince Hollywood to help drop prices.

Am I the only person not pleased by Hollywood’s apparent refusal to lower prices?  What price point must Blu-ray movie titles reach before you hop on the Blu-ray bandwagon?

54 Comments

Crabbyappleton
Posts: 5756
Posted on: 02 Dec 08 19:34
They need to come to the realisation that the format war did not end when HD DVD bit the dust. that was really just a battle or skirmish...the real war is with the DVD. GOOD LUCK!
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 02 Dec 08 21:07
If I'm not mistaken at the end of the VHS life cycle, hollywood started releasing movies on DVD's first then on VHS trying to push us into buying into the DVD format. It seems if the studios wanted to push us towards blu-ray they could employ the same tactics.
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 03 Dec 08 01:58
I think a winning promotion would be to offer a trade in DVD programme. If you have a DVD that is now in Blu-ray you can trade it in for $10-15 off the new version. They got the $10-20 for the DVD they sold you, cost to them $1 maybe and now they get another $10-20 from you and you get the new version and it cost them $1.
psychoace
Posts: 351
Posted on: 03 Dec 08 02:20
what the hell is this article talking about? There were no glory day prices when the war was being fought. the prices were the same if not higher than they are today. You could never find a Blu Ray movie near $15 a year ago now even movies like Kung Fu Panda are at that price. Also have you looked at new dvd's prices? If you miss the first week sale they are typically $20-$24. That is about as much as most Blu Ray disc's go for right now if you shop right.
shaolin007
Posts: 883
Posted on: 03 Dec 08 03:24
Well if you bought one of those Bluray players for $99, you shouldn't be mad if you didnt do your homework and check the disc prices out first. It is sort of like printers. The printers are cheap but they get ya when you buy the ink cartridge, usually.

I dont think they will try to phase out DVD just so they could get you to switch to Bluray. DVD is still their gravy train and they would alienate alot of their market and lose mega revenue.

@psychoace

DVD's for 20-24 bucks? Where in the hell do you see that. Target sells new releases for $15 top and most of the old ones can be had for 10 or less. But then again, I just go down to my local Redbox location and rent the movie for a buck. If I like it, I just copy it but most of the time most movies arent worth a copy.
Hypnosis4U2NV
Posts: 1464
Posted on: 03 Dec 08 04:22
This is an article? Tell me something I dont know already..
psychoace
Posts: 351
Posted on: 03 Dec 08 05:45
I must admit Target seems to have some great prices but I just looked and they do seem to have a bunch of newer movies for $20. Also your last option is not a solution for most people since not everyone knows how to use a computer let alone know how to pirate using it.
applegodel8
Posts: 151
Posted on: 03 Dec 08 06:36
i dont pay more then $10 for a movie, and the best place to shop i have seen so far is sellers on amazon, or amazon them selves. they have the best deal so far. most films i buy i pay no more then $5 and then $10 on occasion. ill wait till it gets cheap.
psychoace
Posts: 351
Posted on: 03 Dec 08 06:54
Yup that's good for you but this article is stating that Blu Ray movies cost from $35 and up. This might be true for the MSRP but Dvd's are the same. Most stores sell the movies far less then the Manufacture Suggested Retail Price. Also you can find a nice collection of Blu Ray movies for $15 and even even junk Blu Ray movies for less then that.
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 03 Dec 08 08:12
It is pointless to buy a blu Ray player if you don't have a HDTV and most people can't afford it.
psychoace
Posts: 351
Posted on: 03 Dec 08 13:56
ha i saw a ton of people this past weekend buy HDTV's so next?
Hypnosis4U2NV
Posts: 1464
Posted on: 03 Dec 08 14:27
"ha i saw a ton of people this past weekend buy HDTV's so next?"

Given the average person weighs about 175lbs and 1 ton equates to 2240lbs, your saying you saw approximately 12 people buying HDTV's this past weekend..
XStylus
Posts: 16
Posted on: 03 Dec 08 20:26
Frankly, I generally don't buy DVDs unless they've dropped to the $10 to $15 price range.

When Blu-Ray discs drop to that range (and when the cracking software gets good enough that I can rip it to my PSP, iPod, and laptop without having to fork over more money), maybe I'll jump on board.

Until then, DVD is still good enough in my opinion.
steveo119
Posts: 291
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 11:32
i know i've already mentioned this in another thread, but we pay £10 for chart dvd's over in the uk, and 15-20 notes for a bluray. work that out to your dollars!! lol

but i don't mind paying the extra if i'm getting the extra quality!
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 13:58
oh, and i've just seen this in argos today, and this is a good deal for the prices WE pay over here!!
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...1500317761.htm
ferd
Posts: 243
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 14:40
Was that 6 fat people or 10 people of normal stature?
DukeNukem
Posts: 998
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 15:03
@ Steve

I must say that I'm not a big fan of Bush, if you know what I mean (and I think that you do).
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 16:46
@Steve, that low end Bush blu-ray player probably doesn't decode hidef sound (DTS HD MA, Dolby TrueHD) so you will need a Receiver that can decode it.
Crabbyappleton
Posts: 5756
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 17:10
That's a good tip! But at least for the ~150 dollars US- the remote comes with batteries. This thing originally listed for nearly 450 US! To think it would not decode the sound for the discs it is designed for is pretty sad.
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 17:33
so what you are basically saying then is buy another ps3!! lol!

@ duke, yeah cought your drift immediatly! lol
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 17:35
i guess i was simply pointing out it was a not bad price for someone who was starting out! i need the optical out, so it would be no use to me anyway!
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 18:18
Blu-ray movies prices still too high? Yes it is.

But on Black Friday last week Amazon was selling Transformers Blu-ray 2 disc special edition for $9.99 and I missed it! Damn!
Crabbyappleton
Posts: 5756
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 19:20
It was interesting to see what they were going for over there. But, also to get an idea of what you all think of the value. I really thought you guys would say they were better value, as for a while at least your currency was considerably stronger than ours. A lot of imported stuff went higher here, even things we get from Canada as the dollar fell so hard.
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 19:35
i think the prices are still a little on the high side, unless you use amazon, or a good deal at tescos or asda(walmart). finding some shops are selling for £20-£25 unless you know where to look TBH.
i personally feel that if i get a bluray for 15-18 pounds, then i'm quite happy, even if its from play.com/amazon/HMV and other online etc, coz some dvd's here are about about that price too, if you don't shop around!
Tuppenny
Posts: 4
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 19:51
I'm glad in these days of recession there are so many people out there that can spend so much money on Blu-ray. I love movies, have collected for years but content is still more important to me than quality. I am retired, on social security - have a TV which gives me a picture as clear as can be, play DVD which are also a good clear crisp picture. How much more clear do you want? I think Blu-ray belongs in the same category as the old Beta tapes and should go to the same place.
Crabbyappleton
Posts: 5756
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 20:01
You hit the nail on the head. The problem was DVD sales went flat as everyone finally made the switch. It had nothing to do with folks wanting a "clearer picture". The DVD players and recording devices got so cheap that the margins became razor thin. WE didn't need a new format THEY did. So, how to justify making folks jump from 8.4GB discs to 25? Content with huge file sizes that can't fit on a DVD. Hollywood to the rescue with "HD" digital versions and uncompressed sound to fill the disc. Only problem? They wanted a piece of the action, so they wanted a DRM that could not be cracked, so they could make money even after the sale charging for actions that were once deemed "Fair Use".

If you think about it, the whole BR campaign is nothing more than trying to convince folks they "need" this clearer image. How much better the experience will be in 1080p- It's bullsh*t.

It doesn't seem to be working out too well....
omegaman7769
Posts: 89
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 20:09
They're gonna have to drop substantially for me to even THINK blu! I've seen demonstrations at Circuit city. SHARP! But If I can enjoy dvd at significantly lower prices...
Oh..."but now that Blu-ray is the lone physical high-definition format" LOL. dvd is high enough def for MANY peoples likes. And the format war IS FAR from over. Good luck beating dvd into submission
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 20:13
....all I got to say is, who needs a Hi-Def copy of "Coming to America" for almost $20?

For all intents and purposes DVD's are a fine 'delivery medium' for most films. In the average viewing situation I do not think 5x the resolution equals 5x more enjoyment while watching most films. Honestly, blu-ray is already anachronistic. We already have downloadable hi-def and it's only going to get better.

If Hollywood wants to make money on their investment they need to price Blu-ray pretty much at DVD prices. Most up-resing players make Blu-ray really seem like the superfluous luxury that they are. Except with the intentionally down-graded DVD transfers (like the Last Harry Potter flick) up-rez players like the PS3 do a great job....

Robo Cop for over $30!?!?! Come on!

-brett
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 21:45
If you pay $35 or anywhere close to that for a Blu-ray, you are quite simply a moron and you deserve to pay that. I purchase all of mine at Amazon for $17 or less. Best Buy can suck it....
steveo119
Posts: 291
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 22:15
i'm sorry folks, but if you cannot tell the difference between standard and hi-def (without upscaling) then you are clearly blind. i took my ps3 to my folks with their 42" HDTV, put a bluray in, the old boy was amazed. i then put in independence day dvd and upscaled it, then turned off the upscaler, to let my dad see the difference. he's now bought a ps3 for his xmas, and considering he half blind, thats saying something! (oh and to let you know, my dad makes scrooge look like a charitable chap!) so if you are saying bluray/HD isn't worth the extra, then you've either been looking at the back of the telly when it was on, you've not set it up properly, or you have cateracts and just got out of a mental institute!! (or bought an xbox360)
steveo119
Posts: 291
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 22:24
you could say the same about audio! you admit you're an audiophile, but you could say that sound quality is not important, quality of the actual tunes written is everything!!

yet which would you rather have? a dodgy cheap 2 speaker stereo, or a 5.1 decent priced sound system?

and the same argument applys to video! what would you rather have? a crt tv with dvd quality pictures(if you're lucky), or 1080i HDTV, with either dvd upscale/bluray?

i'll easily pick the second option on both thanks!
omegaman7769
Posts: 89
Posted on: 04 Dec 08 22:46
I have seen it in its entirety. Dvd quality is within reason for enjoying. I WAS/AM amazed at HD/BD. I simply am not shelling out money for Blu when I get captivated enough by dvd movies. (when they're good) im not thinking about the quality. Im zoned to a good story line, NOT the video quality. Dont get me wrong, when BD is cheaper, I will make the switch. Not to mention when Projectors capable of HD are more affordable.
Tuppenny
Posts: 4
Posted on: 05 Dec 08 01:37
Amen to 90% of the above comments - I was delighted to see there are so many sensible financially responsible people out there. If I were a Warren Buffett maybe I would agree with the other 10% but until I am I think the condition of our country needs what support we can contribute - like feeding some hungry rather than making a greedy company making Blu-ray richer. So I will make do with my discs and burn my own movies. They look fine to me.
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 05 Dec 08 12:06
@tuppenny, if we all thought like you do, the we would still be useing a horse and carrage! you may want to check out the title of this site!

its called cdfreaks, not economy freaks!

oh, and i'm a car park attendant, not a millionaire, but i am a videophile and audiophile, and i don't need to spend the earth on equipment, over here, HDTV's are standard and you cant buy a crt here! so whats the problem with getting your telly to use its potential, and besides, i don't need to use bluray all the time coz the bluray player also upscales standard dvd's! so if i can't buy a bluray film that month to build up my collection, then i'll get a dvd that nearly looks as good!
Crabbyappleton
Posts: 5756
Posted on: 05 Dec 08 14:13
Steve- well thank goodness you at least have a job and a good enough one to allow you some extra money for some things you want! I see you point completely. But, I think that Tuppenny has an important thing to say too when he says that we sometimes get so caught up in ourselves, that we can forget about those less fortunate. If more people had his attitude, it would not hurt a thing, at least right now in the US. (I'm not saying you don't-I am just making a point)

I am not a big contributor to charity normally, and like you I like to get a lot of the latest tech and I do so. But I have made several donations to our county food bank this year and last year as in this case the money seems to go right to the people that need it most, not some creep administrator in a 1200 dollar suit *cough* *United Way* *coughs*. We even are having food drives for the food bank at work for the past two years. It really is getting rough over here. Me and my wife are VERY lucky and are not affected by the madness right now, (actually, no one in our entire families are affected for some reason) but there are a lot of people here that are and they are kind of in shock as they don't understand why they cannot find work. It really sucks right now! I think this is why it's on folks minds now more than it used to be. At least in my case.
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 05 Dec 08 16:08
i totally agree, and i do help charities sometimes, even though i don't have that great a wage!
but if you learn to budget properly, then why not buy the things you want? and i'm very thankful i work in the National Health Service, as it is as safe a job as you can get these days!

but i feel that tuppenny's comments were a little one sided, and its people like me that will keep peoples jobs going, not by 'feeding sony', but by supporting the high street, or the shopworkers in the superstores down to store cleaners, by buying stuff, even if its tv's clothes or even blurays!

the only way people will get jobs in these hard times is that people are in jobs spend money!

so to summerise, if i spend my money on blurays, then i'm helping to pay a wage for someone to put food on their table!
DeadMan
Posts: 1560
Posted on: 05 Dec 08 16:37
From now on everytime 'Blur-ry' is mentioned on this site I am going to post this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC50F5pyMhI
Crabbyappleton
Posts: 5756
Posted on: 05 Dec 08 17:03
Gotcha - no worries!
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 05 Dec 08 17:26
now thats all i'm gonna say on the matter lol!!

i'm gettin waaay to long winded in my old age!
rab
Posts: 24
Posted on: 05 Dec 08 23:46
i'm a fan of dvd being older i began with vhs
poor picture bad sound easly damaged.
dvd was a great leap forward. not so
blue ray yes it can give a better picture
but it is no way a great leap forward
more i have 1000+ dvds what replace them at the present costs
are you raving mad dvds at the moment will last
unlike vhs
steveo119
Posts: 291
Posted on: 07 Dec 08 13:10
yeah rab, i understand what you're saying, but thats the beauty of it, you don't have to bin all your dvd's or replace them, coz the bluray players enhance your dvds to near HD anyway, its an added bonus. i personally want to build my bluray collection, but i'm not going to start buying bluray copies of the dvd's i already own, thats just daft!
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 09 Dec 08 18:18
It's funny you say that because on Black Friday I bought the new Panny and my brother passed. His exact words were "BD players are now affordable but when will the movies be affordable?" He was going to buy a Blu Ray player but passed because of movie prices. I have also been very picky about my purchases because I can't get myself to spend $25 to $30 on a movie. IMO, you get the Blu Ray movie prices to a more mass market price....it will drive sales of Blu Ray players.
Tuppenny
Posts: 4
Posted on: 09 Dec 08 20:29
steve119 - your remarks are the first comfortable thing I have read through this whole debate -rather than going for HD or Bluray - if we end up in a Bluray world it won't wipe out my extensive DVD collection, just make them better. I can go for that, but I am still not going for $20-30.00 for a Bluray disc. I can't think of a movie that is worth that and I love movies!
http://club.cdfreaks.com/avatars/steveo119-375061.gif yeah rab, i understand what you're saying, but thats the beauty of it, you don't have to bin all your dvd's or replace them, coz the bluray players enhance your dvds to near HD anyway, its an added bonus. i personally want to build my bluray collection, but i'm not going to start buying bluray copies of the dvd's i already own, thats just daft!
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 09 Dec 08 22:48
I don't understand you guys who are "not going for $20-30.00 for a Blu-ray disc movie." How much are you paying for a DVD?

DVD: The Dark Knight (Two-Disc Special Edition + Digital Copy) $20.99
Blu-ray The Dark Knight (+ Digital Copy and BD Live) [Blu-ray] $23.99

Only $3 more than DVD and you complain?
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 09 Dec 08 22:53
Or perhaps you enjoy movies for the content and not the superfluous additions?

Then again I still like old movies too so maybe I'm just wierd that way. I've always thought this transition from quality products to 'UBER GRAPHICS' has been a bad one. Most new games look great but play like the hard side of a dog's shit. Most new movies are similar :P.
Tuppenny
Posts: 4
Posted on: 09 Dec 08 23:16
Have you ever heard of recording your own - a dvd recorder - a cable and a disc.
psychoace
Posts: 351
Posted on: 09 Dec 08 23:35
Piracy is not a viable option for most.
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 09 Dec 08 23:58
@Tupenny: I can't imagine how you get "extensive" dvd collection with that route. DVD Recorder + a cable + a disc? You mean connecting to cable/satellite? Are those new movies? 1x recording speed? If so, then you get heavily compressed video from cable tv. I guess we are in different page.
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 02 Jan 09 21:59
There are two Blu-ray players in our family. My son has one but will not buy the discs as they are 'too dear' and my son in law has one but doesn't even know what a blu-ray disc is. Beats me why either of them bought a player which are dearer here (Australia) than either UK or USA.
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 02 Jan 09 23:33
@blue
Dark Knight (one of the only titles I would buy on Blu-ray IF I had a HDTV set and a Blu-ray player). I have just done some 10 second research on amazon.com - and the DVD version is $13.99 - nobody cares about the extras disc (which is also a gigantic rip-off if you stop and think about it for a second) or a digital copy. So the DVD is almost HALF the price of the blu-ray version. Enough said.
psychoace
Posts: 351
Posted on: 03 Jan 09 00:53
But you can't compare a raped version to a full featured version. It's apples and oranges. Also some people don't find it a rip off. Some people want more for there money.
guest
Posts: 15288
Posted on: 05 Jan 09 15:51
well bro thats because your Govt has turned your country into a welfare state for people from Africa and the Middle East. I mean they all demand money, housing, healthcare and that means higher taxes for you guys. Perhaps if you get away from the left wing Govt who has put you in that position, your taxes will not be so high and you wont have to complain about prices compared to the US. I read today you had 4000 Islamic terrorists in your country.
steveo119
Posts: 291
Posted on: 06 Jan 09 19:54
yeap, absolutely agree. i would send them all back tomorrow if i was in charge..........but i'm not.

however, i do have the luxury of not having the paramedics check for my visa card before my pulse, so i'll put up with the taxes!
steveo119
Posts: 291
Posted on: 06 Jan 09 19:59
i know tuppeny might spit his teeth out at this, but yesterday i bought another ps3 for my living room, binned the stereo, and now using it as a bluray/audio player, as this is what it does best.

at least i get the satisfaction that i kept some greasy spotted bloke in my local gamestation in a job!!

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